Balleroy, Bayeux and D-Day Landing beaches

Chateau Balleroy

E had some errands to do in the morning and we did them en route to my first stop, which was Chateau Balleroy.  I got dropped off in the wet weather on the road while E went to work briefly, and walked to the ticket office located in one of the two stables.

I was assigned an English guide, Sasha, who explained that there are two stables, one for the owner’s horses and another for guests’ to prevent spread of diseases.

The Chateau was built in 1631 and was bought by Malcom Forbes in 1970 who fell in love with the area while serving in the area during WWII.  It is now owned by Roy Eddleman, a family friend.  As it is still a private house, no photos are allowed, so the exterior photo shrouded in plastic for restoration is all I have.

My only photo of Chateau Balleroy is shrouded in plastic for restoration.

Famous guests here include Queen Victoria and Elizabeth Taylor.

One feature I noticed here was that there were generally no hallways.  One room leads through to another.  It was the style during the period and as a result the building is quite skinny, not having two rooms flanking a central hallway.

Forbes was an avid ballooner and this is seen in elements of the décor in the house, and also in some of the collectible pieces.

At the end of the guided tour, I visited the Ballooning Museum located above the ticket office.  It explained the history of hot air balloons, development, accidents and significant milestones.

E had finished his short bit of work on his day off and was already waiting in the café downstairs.  We had a delicious quiche before setting off to explore other sights of the area and the D-Day landing beaches on the way back to Cherbourg.

E’s family have strong roots in the Balleroy area, Vaubadon where they had a family home and nearby Bayeux.

Bayeux Cathedral

Next, E took me to Bayeux, home of the Bayeux Tapestry.  But he was waylaid by some shiny objects at an antique shop along the way where we stayed for probably an hour.

It was after 1500 when we reached the tapestry but there was a long queue for the entry to buy the tickets, estimated at 40 mins.

E joined the queue while I walked briskly to Bayeux Cathedral for a quick look.  The present cathedral sits on an ancient Roman sanctuary and was consecrated in 1077.  Due to serious damage in the 12^th Century what we see now is largely rebuilt as late as the 15^th and 19^th Centuries.

It was once home to the Bayeux Tapestry and exhibited for limited times at special times of the calendar.

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Bayeux Tapestry

But now, the Bayeux Tapestry is exhibited in an old abbey near the Cathedral, pending construction of a custom-built museum.

The tapestry is a 70m embroidered work of art that tells of the Norman conquest of England in 1066. William the Conqueror led the conquest and became King of England. The audio guide was quite good but not controllable by the user but instead ran continuously, forcing everyone to move at the same pace.

At about 1000 years old and photos were not permitted with or without flash. I took a photo of a 3-D pixi version.

Pixi 3-D version of the Bayeux Tapestry.

D-Day Landing beaches

We drove to Arromanches-les-Baines where the British forces landed on D-Day, 6 June 1944.  Around 1900, we sat had tea and cake, brought along from home, on the concrete railing overlooking the beach and sea.  The weather had finally come right.

Some of the floating harbours used during D-Day for unloading are seen around the outskirts of town.

It was around 1930 when we stopped at a restaurant at Port-en-Bessin for dinner.

From there, we drove past the American Cemetery which had closed for the day.

Next, we continued to the darkish golden sands of Omaha Beach where the US forces landed.  The area is lined with nice homes.  Even though I’m not superstitious, I would probably feel strange living in an area where so many people lost their lives.

Our last stop was La Pointe du Hoc. The US forces had to scale up from the beach a cliff.